In recent NBA trade rumors, the New York Knicks would be open to the idea of trading off their young Latvian center/forward.
Kristaps Porzingis is now the new darling of Madison Square Garden after being booed on draft night. There is an underlying notion that he is untouchable in a trade. However, recent developments may force the hand of team president Phil Jackson.
One such development is the Derrick Rose rape case. The Ringer columnist Jason Concepcion asked the public question: "I've been trying to imagine how I'll feel watching Rose lead the Knicks on a fast break. Or hitting a game winner. How do I root for a person when, in the context of the real world, I believe that person acted abominably?"
The New York Knicks is a team that's always under scrutiny and the last thing they need is this type of controversy. From a public relations standpoint, it could be worse than Rose getting injured.
Thus, the talks about trading Rose (as soon as he's eligible) and since Rose, even before the rape case came out, had low trade value, the Knicks had to attach a fancy add-on, in this case being the Latvian prize, Kristaps Porzingis.
Rumor sites such as The Inquisitr reported the trade rumor with Derrick Rose and Porzingis heading to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook.
The debate on whether to trade Porzingis for Westbrook was already ignited when Kevin Durant left the Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors. The common notion around the league was that Westbrook was up for grabs.
The only caveat, as discussed in a previous report, was that Westbrook had not yet signed a contract extension at that time. Thus, he could become a free agent at the end of the season.
With his extension, Westbrook could be guaranteed to stay until the end of the 2017-18 season (if he exercises his player option). That is indeed a game-changer in terms of Westbrook's trade value.
If the Knicks want to avoid dealing with Rose's situation, they may have to bite the bullet and make a trade. However, Rose is at the tail-end of his contract (it expires at the end of the upcoming season) and they may regret any drastic moves to remedy a temporary situation.